Supreme Court’s judgment in favour of Tamil Nadu government is historic: P. Wilson

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, and Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan felicitating Rajya Sabha Member P. Wilson on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, and Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan felicitated Rajya Sabha Member P. Wilson over the Supreme Court judgment received in favour of the State government on Tuesday.

They presented a shawl to Mr. Wilson and exchanged sweets with him at the Secretariat in Fort St. George in Chennai.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Wilson termed the SC verdict a “landmark judgment”.

Explaining various aspects of the verdict, he said: “From now on, the Governors should act on any Bill only as per the aid and advice of the Chief Minister and the Cabinet.”

The judgment has also made it clear under what circumstances a Bill could be referred to the President by the Governor, Mr. Wilson said. It also specified a fixed time frame for a Governor to act on a Bill, he added. “If a Bill reaches the Governor, he has to act on it within 30 days. If the Bill had to be referred to the President, it has to be done so within three months, according to the SC. It is a historic judgment,” he said.

When asked if there was any chance of a review petition being moved, Mr. Wilson said it would be faced legally if it came up

NEET Bill

To another query, he said there was no connection between the Supreme Court judgment and the NEET Bill.

“Through this judgment, our Chief Minister has protected the autonomy of all States in the country. He has demonstrated that democratically-elected governments, if acting as per the Constitution, can move the courts if Governors are obstructing governance,” Mr. Wilson said.

The judgment has said that the Governor should be a good friend, philosopher, guide, and an advisor, and his actions should not be roadblocks, Mr. Wilson said. To a query, he said as per the Bill, those who were being nominated by the State government could become the Vice-Chancellor.